Reports from Middle East broadcaster BeIN Sports claimed that Guardiola has agreed to take over the helm at the Etihad Stadium from Chilean Manuel Pellegrini after City failed to add any trophies to last years haul of League and League Cup double.
The report suggesting Guardiola’s move to Manchester has angered many at Bayern Munich, especially club legend and Champions League winning captain Lothar Matthaus, who has been disappointed with the Spaniards handling of the club since clinching their 25th German title last month.
After Bayern’s Champions League first leg defeat at Guardiola’s old club Barcelona, Matthaus said “Guardiola has already said that their season is over and he’s been rotating the team so much that he is unsettling them.”
It seems a far cry from the relaxed and expectant atmosphere over the season as Bayern looked to conquer the world again by winning the German double and looked favourites to lift another Champions League crown after hammering Roma 7-1, Porto 6-1, and Shakhtar Donetsk 7-0 in recent matches.
However, the last few games have put the club in a slump, losing to rivals Dortmund in the German Cup, League defeats at Leverkusen and the shocking home defeat to FC Augsburg combined with their destruction by Guardiola’s former star pupil Lionel Messi have greatly affected his players. “It seems the players are losing a bit of belief in the coach, and he hadn't expected that.” Added Matthaus.
Along with the decline on the pitch there are problems behind the scenes. The recent fall out with the clubs long term doctor, Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfahrt, ending with the medical man's resignation caused a few raised eyebrows. It may seem the honeymoon is over for Guardiola in Germany and he will be allowed to leave with a year to go on his contract which runs out in 2016.
However, Manchester City dismissed reports on Saturday night that they had reached a verbal agreement with Pep Guardiola to take over as manager next season and other reports have suggested that AC Milan’s new Thai owners want him to rebuild the Italian giants in a summer overhaul.
There will be a lot more to this story over the next few weeks, but one thing for sure is that City have an ace up their sleeve. Txiki Begiristain, City's sporting director, was instrumental in appointing Guardiola to his first managerial post at Barcelona in 2008 means that City are well placed to bring the Catalan to the Premier League when he does decide to quit Bayern.
Source: DSG
